Home > Media Coverage > Western News, December 12, 2002

Western’s largest SSHRC grant

By Bridget Cox
Western gets $3 million, the largest grant in the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada's (SSHRC) history, to study aging in the workplace.

"This is huge! It is as exciting as winning the purple blanket," says Julie McMullin, principal investigator for the Workforce Aging in the New Economy project.

In 1989 she was awarded the Western purple blanket for being an outstanding athlete in curling. Finding out about receiving the SSHRC grant has been another big moment in her life. She remembers the moment vividly.

"It was 3:30 p.m., it was Wednesday. I got a phone call from SSHRC. It was like winning a sporting event, you just felt like pumping your fists!"

McMullin has every right to be pumped. The $3 million is the largest SSHRC grant ever. McMullin's project was up against 63 other applicants with only 9 projects receiving funds. All grants are around the $2 to $3 million range.

McMullin feels her project, Workforce Aging in the New Economy, was granted the funding because people are very interested in the implications of the aging workforce. "Some people see the aging workforce with a near crisis mentality. Many say the economy will collapse, but we don't take that view."

To prove there is no crisis, McMullin's project will study the information technology (IT) industry, exploring the relationships between employees, as they age, and their employers and governments, The goal of the project is to develop innovative policies for the workplace that will help society deal with employment changes in the new economy.

"The IT industry is known for workplaces made up of mostly young, white males. Many of these workplaces have pool tables, bars, and a casual, fun atmosphere. But, they also experience a rapid turnover," says McMullin. "Our study will be examining this unique and growing sector to help shape human resource policy not only for the the IT industry, but the workplace as a whole."
McMullin and her team will also be looking at workers who have lost their jobs due to restructuring. "We will be looking at how to retrain older workers."
The study will conduct 16 case studies across the globe, four studies in each participating country; the United States, the European Union, Australia and Canada. The project has 23 partners around the world that will be involved with employee surveys, information interviews with IT managers and company owners and to gather data.
"When you factor in the help from all of our partners, the project will have an extra $2 million over the four year study," says McMullin. The partners will include labour groups, technology organizations, government agencies and private companies as well as research aid from eight universities around the world.

"The SSHRC funding for this project represents a milestone at our University' and we are extremely proud of Julie and her team," says Ted Hewitt, Western's Associate VicePresident (Research). "Western has always achieved higher than average funding from SSHRC, a clear indication .we are leaders in the social sciences and humanities."

McMullin and Hewitt were at the University of Toronto for the announcement on Tuesday. The grant is part of SSHRC's Initiative on the New Economy (INE), which helps to fund research dealing with the impact of the expansion of knowledge in all fields, the proliferation of communications technologies, and the globalization of markets for goods, services and ideas that drive the speed and scale of this change.

At the end of the four-year study, McMullin and her team will present their findings to the business community, government organizations and research institutions.

McMullin completed her Master's ('91) and undergraduate ('89) degrees in Sociology at Western and finished her PhD in 1996 at the University of Toronto. While at Western, McMullin was on the Mustang Women's curling team, which won several provincial titles.

Original Citation Information:

Cox, Brigette. (2002, December 12). Western’s Largest SSHRC grant. Western News, 38 (34), pp. 1-2.